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tv   MSNBC News Live  MSNBC  September 26, 2010 10:00am-11:00am EDT

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allegations of sexual abuse and coercion of four teenage young men into acts apparently, he's reported to have given them lavish jewelry, even cars, vacations, these all allegations by these four. he will address these allegations coming up shortly. but earlier he did hold the first of two morning church services at that megachurch which about 10,000 people attended. let's listen to part of what he said to the congregation. >> i have never in my life portrayed myself as a perfect m man. but i am not the man that's being portrayed on the television. [ cheers and applause ] >> again, that is bishop eddie long, the pastor at the center of the sex scandal, speaking to the congregation in georgia just a short while ago. and again, four men have accused bishop long of coaxing them into sexual relationships when they were teens. and the bishop denies all the
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allegations, saying he is not going to try this case in the media. but again, at any moment we do expect a live statement from bishop long directed to the press. nbc's ron mott is live outside the church. so ron-w a good morning, what else has the pastor had to say so far today? >> reporter: hey, good morning to you, alex. well, one of the things a lost folks were questioning about eddie long this week was why he waited until today. he allowed essentially almost a full week of these allegations to circulate throughout the media, and that of course has done some damage to his -- to his reputation here in atlanta and around the country. he came on the stage today, got behind that podium to thunderous applause at times, told this congregation that they are here at new birth every sunday, that he expects to be here next sunday and for many sundays to continue. as you mentioned, he says he's not going to play this out in the media, he's going to use the court system. that's the only place he says he's going to get justice. he said this is a very difficult time for himself and his family. and he also said this is when the veil comes down and you're really going to see who's going
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to stick with you through thick and thin. let me show you something else that he also it had had to say this morning to the congregation. as he mentioned earlier, he said, "i have been accused of i'm under attack. i want you to know as i said earlier i'm not a perfect man. but this thing i'm going to fight. i feel like david against goliath. but i've got five rocks, and i haven't thrown one yet." now, as you mentioned, alex, there are four lawsuits that are pending here in dekalb county. there's been some rumors circulating that as many as 30 young men have gone to this attorney, b.j. bernstein, with their stories about improper relationships with eddie long, and so it's going to be interesting to see in the time coming forward whether there will be more lawsuits. but suffice it to say he says this is the most difficult time in his life and the most difficult thing he's had to face here in almost 25 years at new birth. alex, back to you. >> all right. nbc's ron mott. ron, thank you very much for that. and again, we will take that news conference live once it gets under way. meantime, we have some brand new numbers this hour on the state of education in this country, including what americans think about the job public schools are doing. it is part of our "education
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nation" series kicking off today. and joining me live now with the results of the new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll is nbc's jeff rossen. good morning you to you, jeff. >> hey, alex. >> so this poll actually let people grade the public schools here in the u.s. what did they sniend. >> they sure did. and it's not good. they grade the public school system, and many of them say that they're pretty pessimistic about the state of america's public schools right now. let's bring you right to the numbers to show you exactly what we're talking about. 58% think public schools grades k through 12 need major changes or a complete overhaul. 36% think only minor changes are need. and just 5% think public schools are woshing pretty well right now. the poll then delves deeper and breaks down the public's perception of public schools in general across the country. in terms of parents who currently have children in public schools, just 3% of them rate schools with an a. only 3%. 23% give the public schools a b. 41% say c.
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24% give the schools a d. and 7% rated our nation's public schools as failing. now, remember, this is for public schools in general across the country. what's interesting to note here is when you ask those same parents about public schools specifically in their communities the numbers improves. here are those numbers. 17% of parents rated public schools within their community with an a. 33% say b. 24% say c. 13% gave it a d. and 9% give it a failing rating. so people, it seems, have a much worse view of public schools in general when they're talking about other neighborhoods versus their own. but still, the numbers aren't good, alex. >> oh, no, absolutely. but what i find interesting here is all these numbers but for those people who have a pessimistic view of the public school system overall as opposed to their own back yard, what reasons do they give? >> we asked about that too. it's really a mix of things. and let me show you another piece of the poll if we can call it up. 53% say elected officials are the problem.
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look at that. more than half say elected officials are the problem. 50% say parents are the problem. 41% blame teachers unions. and about a third say principals, administrators, and teachers. but look at those first two numbers. elected officials and parents. and then teachers union being below that. really a fascinating poll that really tells you about dwrts so important we're doing it this week. >> i was going to say, exactly a catalyst and a good one from which to jump off this week with "education nation." jeff rossen, thank you so much. do keep it right here on msnbc because later today nbc's brian williams will host a teacher town hall, bringing together teachers from across the country to brainstorm ideas and talk about what works in the classroom and highlight the challenges of today's education system. so you don't want to miss it. the teacher town hall starts live at noon eastern, 9:00 a.m. pacific time, right here on msnbc. there are some new aerial footage of the devastating flooding in southern minnesota. the governor there has declared a state of emergency in 34 counties after as much as ten inches of rain doused the
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region. businesses along the swollen cannon river remain inundated and there are more evacuations yesterday. but as promised we're going to take you right now to dekalb county just outside of atlanta. we're going to go to bishop eddie long, who's taken to the podium. let's take a listen to what's being said. or at least his attorney. >> thank you. >> good morning. i'd just like to take this moment -- >> i can't believe we're having some trouble with this. we're going to get these audio problems fixed as soon as possible. i was able to hear a slight stream, everyone, if that helps those in the audio booth trying to fix this. >> -- public opinion. i will say that i am going to
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fight, fight very vigorously against these charges. and i've been at this church for 23 years. this is the first time i realized that we are as important as we are, we get this much attention, and we're going to continue as a church to do the things we do to touch the world. there are hospitals that we built in nigeria and kenya and things that we're doing in the honduras with building homes for missionaries, and even as we support hospice in south africa as you witnessed even today, there are so many things. and i even increased my commitment to working with youth. i've always done that. we've always done that as a church. we've always helped young men and young ladies and families. and to make sure that they're able to move forward and the move into college and to do things that make them better and more productive citizens. so things that new birth has stood for, the good things that we have done and we will ton to
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have done and continue to do and increase in all of that. so without violatie ining anyth that my attorney has so commissioned me and put me to instruct me, i appreciate your time. i appreciate you being here. and i thank you. >> all right. that would seem to be it. embattled pastor eddie long right now leading with his wife and coterie of personal attorneys as well as those representing the church right now. so i'm joined by reverend eugene rivers of the souza christian church. reverend rivers, what you heard right there, and i apologize for any discrepancies at the top of the audio, but my summary was that he talked about a lot of things but he did not specifically address the allegations, rather talked about things he's accomplished to better his community. >> from what i heard, it's unfortunate that he did not
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address the specific issues, which is the reason for the press conference in the first instance. i'm not sure, unfortunately, that bishop long has said anything that addresses the larger issues that have to do with integrity, accountability. i'm surprised that there was not an apology to the church for just the drama that they're being subjected to globally. so for me it's unfortunate because i'm actually at a loss for how this approach that was taken with regards to the issues. >> well, reverend, he did say earlier, and that was while he was standing behind the pulpit at the church addressing his congregation in his service this morning, he said, "i'm not going to try this in the media." that would certainly back up
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that because he didn't really reference the issue in front of the media. >> well, it's not -- see, that's a little late. you don't let the media carry the -- drive the issue for seven days and then say, well, i'm not going to address this in the media. that's virtually impossible now. you can't have seven days of above the fold media coverage, have a virtual media tsunami, and then seven days later say, well, we're not going to deal with the media. that's virtually impossible at this stage of the game. >> okay. i know that from your vantage point this is how you are feeling. put yourself in the shoes of members of his congregation. i mean, he did address, while he was addressing them inside church. he said this has been a very difficult time for me, it is a very difficult time for my congregation. how much do you think they need answers? think about this, too, reverend, that they stood up. they gave him a standing ovation. they applauded him. it's clear that they revere this man. >> yeah. >> are they looking for answers, too? >> there are two things going on. one, they -- putting myself in
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their position, they are standing by their leader, a leader who has loved them, pastored them, supported them, and that they love. and so we're standing by our leader, our shepherd because the truth is he's innocent till proven guilty. so on the basis of that alone they say there have been a series of accusations and until we hear evidence of facts to the contrary we're standing with our leader. so that's entirely correct. >> how about going forward? it is a very challenging thing to dismiss allegations if they are proven to be unfounded. how does he move forward beyond this? this is the kind of thing that could haunt him for a long time to come. >> i imagine that this follows you for a very long time. you think about the sexual scandal in the roman catholic church. that is going to follow the
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roman catholic church. in the context of the black community precisely because the black church plays a greater role, the buzz, the debate, the discussion around sexual ethics, accountability, leadership, lifestyle, those issues are going to be debated vigorously all across the black community because of the importance of the black church and beyond. >> i want to tell you, reverend rivers, that we are joined here in the studio right now by terry williams, the president and founder of the terry williams agency. and terry's also the author of the book "black pain: it just looks like we're not hurting." so we are talking about the discussion of what the pastor did or did not say, rather, while addressing the media. he says, eddie long, "i don't want to try this in the media." but he really didn't address these allegations. how difficult is this for him, not addressing them head on? if he claims his innocence, why not do that publicly? >> well, i mean, i think that
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there are a lot of issues at hand. the first thing that i would want to say is that, you know, i think that people in positions of leadership, particularly in the faith community, are held to higher standards than most of us are. i want to really just kind of set that -- >> true. >> -- set that straight. and i will say that what concerns me most is the fact that these young black men who have claimed that they have been violated is not something that they do easily. it's a harder discussion in general to talk about men being molested as opposed to girls. i mean, it's a horrific experience for anyone to have to experience. but especially for a black man to admit to being violated in that way speaks volumes to me because it's -- it means that's the ultimate violation. and so i'm concerned about the trauma of these kids because i don't -- i believe people when
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they say -- when they step outside of themselves and say that they have been violated. i tend to believe that because it's a -- and i remember b.j. bernstein saying specifically all of the things that she was going to do. but what hit me hardest was when she said, and i knew this, that young black men to come forward and say that they have been violated speaks volumes. >> how about the volumes that are being spoken right now about this man within the african-american community being accused of this? i mean, you heard the reverend eugene rivers say that the church holds a very important place, perhaps proportionately greater in the african-american community than perhaps the white community in this country. >> i would agree pu. and one of the things i think is important to keep in mind is that he is a human being just like every one of us and we are flawed. and what i also know is that we're born innocent creatures, you know, and then life happens. i don't believe that anybody's
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born bad, mad, or evil, but we're born innocent creatures and then life happens to you. people say things to you and do things to you and you're traumatized and you never have an opportunity to recover. and so you repeat cycles, hurting people hurt people. so that's the context in which i really feel comfortable speaking about it because what i know is we are all human and we are all flawed and we make mistakes. so the thing is when you do make mistakes and when you do -- you know, this is -- it's kind of personal, but i consider myself an upstanding, righteous, sensitive, thoughtful person, but i also know that there's a dark side of me, you know, that i have anger issues, things that i've learned through therapy, which is something that i think especially in the black community we tend to be hesitant to do. but all of us could benefit by mental health counseling. >> a little self-introspection as well. >> for sure. and in fact, october is national mental health awareness month. so just like we go to have a
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physical every year, i think that we should do it -- rather calvin butts at abyssinian says that we should also get a checkup from the neck up every year. >> i see husband point. i love him. what about the reverend -- the bishop rather saying that he plans to come back and hold services as normal next sunday? under the circumstances, with this kind of dark cloud hanging over him, is that the best thing for his congregation? >> the best thing for his congregation -- and i think also that we have a tendency to put people on pedestals where they do not belong because we are all human. but i think the best thing that he can do is to be truthful. that's what i think. because that's the only way you stay true to your calling. and even in the world of public relations and business they tell you that when you make a mistake the first thing that you should do is speak the truth. but that's not the way that --
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so many times it's very difficult for people to do that. to tell the truth. but that's what they tell you. it's just public relations 101. you make a mistake, you fess up, and then you go about building yourself back up. that's the best thing that he could do as a leader, is to speak the truth to his congregation. >> well, having said at least that he's not a perfect man, we'll see where it goes from there. terie williams, thank you very much for joining us right now. author of "black pain: it just looks like we're not hurting." we're going to hear from you next hour. also want to thank our friend reverend rivers. thank you for joining us. i believe you're up in boston. >> yeah. >> terrific. have a good day up there. thank you so much. and we'll be right back on msnbc sunday. a lot more news. stay with us. the smell of home made chili
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four of the eight officials from bell, california accused of bilking more than $5 million in public funds are now out on
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bail. the current and former officials, including the mayor and ex-city manager, were taken into custody tuesday. this scandal broke this summer when residents discovered the relatively poor city of bell was paying all of them over $100,000 salaries apiece. city manager robert rizzo was pulling in nearly $800,000 a year. here with me now, msnbc.com technology writer bob sullivan. and bob, this was a story that certainly got a lot of people hot under the collar, but in your latest article you discuss the question that's probably in a lot of people's minds, how about my city manager? what kind of salary does he or she earn? what did you find in your research? >> hi, alex. well, we're doing this project at msnbc.com. it's going to take about a month. and i spent several weeks looking at state and local databases all around the country looking to see if there were other bells. and i'm asking readers to participate in this as well. so they can go to my column which is at redtape.msnbc.com and help me look up their hometown or their city manager, their city attorney. and here's what we found.
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while there aren't city managers making $800,000 all around the country, there are plenty of people making $100,000, $200,000, $300,000. one e-mail i got from a reader, for example, sent to me from laughlin, nevada which is one of those tiny nevada border gambling towns. the top ten employees in laughlin make over $3 million a year collectively. >> hang on. top ten make $3 million? >> yeah. >> that sounds almost worse than bell. >> well, collectively it might be. these are very well-paid employees. and i'm following up on all of these leads. but you know, it's sort of a story of -- i've got all sorts of e-mails from government workers who say i'm not overpaid, i work 50 hours a week, i get $27,000 a year working at a prison. so just like in the private sector there are people at the top who make too much money and people at the bottom who don't make enough. but the interesting thing about the story collectively is at a time when the private sector's lost 7 million jobs over the last couple of years the public sector has actually gained jobs, and right now folks who are out of work or struggling, you know,
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look at their city governments and they say what are you doing for me and why are you making so much money. it's a good question. >> yeah, it is, absolutely. a couple other statistics in these stunning numbers i want to go through. first, this is five ucla medical school professors earn over $750,000. that's 3/4 of a million bucks. five texas coaches paid by the state making over a million bucks. are these the exception or the norm? and i'm curious. the ucla med school professors, are they not only teachers but also m.d.s so they've gone through and gotten those degrees as well? >> that's right. and in medical schools there's an awful lot of money to be made in donations and whatnot. so some of these stories individually are complicated. but look, in texas 12,000 city or government workers earn more than $100,000 a year. in california there are 400 state employees who make over $400,000 a year. and when i tried to run the database how many workers in california earn over 100,000, the website broke. so there's an awful lot of money being paid to these city employees, and now is a good time to train attention on
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those. >> how can people go about looking up their own city officials and then get in touch with you? >> it's a lot easier to do this with the federal government, federal workers, than it is with local workers. there's a smattering of websites. i have a list of the easiest ones to use on my column. and then at the bottom of my column i have compendiums. the best thing to do is look for local government salaries or watchdogs. in most cases thank goodness there are still local papers that go through the trouble of gathering this data and then putting it on the website in a form that's searchable, which is also very critical. so you go to my site, which is redtape.msnbc.com, i've got all the tools you can use right there, and then send me an e-mail with what you find. >> i think you're going to get a lot of e-mails, my friend. this is an interesting topic. bob sullivan, thank you. >> thank you. nadya suleman holds a yard sale for mortgage money. we're going to tell you which items were the hottest sellers here on msnbc sunday. i was alwa. i can't even tell you how much it's changed my life. [ male announcer ] only rogaine is proven to regrow hair in 85% of guys.
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as octomom held a yard sale this weekend in an attempt to avoid foreclosure on her los angeles-area home. nadya suleman says she's selling her stuff to try to pay off her debts. items up for sale included her nursing bra, some baby clothes, and a bikini that she wore on the cover of tabloid magazines. and so here's what sold. eight devil costumes once worn by the octuplets, they went for about $50. a lakers jersey signed by suleman fetched $125. someone paid $85 for a refrigerator that once stored all that baby formula. and suleman also charged $10 for a picture with her, $100 to pose with her and the octuplets. suleman's lawyer says the single mother of 14 is now considering going on welfare. a programming note for you. on monday matt lauer sits down for a live exclusive interview with president obama. it will kick off "education nation." nbc's look at the state of education in america. the interview will also air live on msnbc. very full half hour beginning at 8:00 a.m. eastern. and you can all submit questions
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i'm alex witt, and here are the top stories at the bottom of the hour for you. the pastor of a georgia megachurch addressed his congregation this morning for the first time since four lawsuits were filed against him. >> i've been accused. i'm under attack. i want you to know, as i said earli earlier, i am not a perfect man, but this thing i'm going to fight. [ cheers and applause ] >> four men accuse bishop eddie long of pressuring them into sexual relationships back when they were teens. the bishop of course, you hear there, has denied the allegations. he is scheduled to appear at another service at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. the administrator of the fund for the victims of the gulf oil spill is promising bigger checks and faster turnaround. kenneth feinberg was criticized
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recently from gulf residents and businesses, who say the payments have been too small and too slow to come. that being payments. the d.e.a. and police departments received tons of prescription drugs turned in at sites across this country. in fact, people dropped off unused and expired drugs at more than 4,000 locations yesterday. the drugs will be destroyed, and it's all part of an effort to prevent prescription drug addiction. analysts will certainly be watching the markets tomorrow after the dow surged 197 points on friday. in fact, the markets have been on a tear for four straight weeks this month. also this week, we're going to get another reading on just how much the economy grew in the second quarter, with a look at the gross domestic product. that is, the sum of all the goods and services made in america. auto sales numbers will come out for september. the sales are expected to be a little bit higher. and on friday bp's embattled ceo, tony hayward, steps down following the largest oil spill disaster in this nation's history. so a bit of good economic news to discuss here as the dow is on
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track for its best september since 1939. that sounds good, doesn't it? with friday's close the dow rose for its fourth straight week and it's now up nearly 8 1/2% this month. ron insana is a senior analyst for cnbc and usually as i say good morning and welcome to you, my friend, we usually have to have you come on here and spin things to make us feel better. but i want to jump on this. this is a good month for september. what's behind this? >> well, we had a bad month in august, alex. in fact, alex was the worst month since 2001 for stocks. so we're having as you said the best september since 1939. if you want to put that in a little pop current perspective. "wizard of oz" and "gone with the wind" came out that year. and the economic data are less worse than we thought they would be going into the month of september. the federal reserve has promised to do more to stimulate the economy. and i think if you're a betting person you have to assume that whether it's after the mid-terms or even maybe slightly before, we're going to see a tax cut extension if not just for the middle class for everybody, because we're leaving the
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mid-terms and going into the next presidential election cycle. and they throw a lot at the economy during those periods. >> yeah. but let's look at these numbers. you have to start somewhere. and while we'd love to be able to say, well, the economy looks super and it's growing, the fact you say it is less bad than expected, at least taz something. >> well, we're making progress. in the housing data this week were pretty encouraging. housing starts up 10% for august. home resales were up. interest rates remain very, very low. so that makes housing that much more affordable -- >> if you have a job. >> if you have a job. and therein lies the problem. the issue that has yet to be tackled is the jobs problem. and we're only grudgingly adding employment in this country right now, and that's holding things back. >> why, though, ron? because if it's all about getting the jobs to help start everything, to get people to buy more, which in turn translates to more successful businesses, get people to buy cars, get people to buy houses, why aren't we seeing more jobs? >> well, there are two explanations, alex, right now, one of which describes
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businesses being uncertain about the cost of the healthcare reform program and how that affects their new hires or the regulatory environment, which has changed rather dramatically for financial firms in particular in the last few months. then there's the other issue of consumer demand. consumers are saving more and spending less. they're walking away from their mortgages and contracting their credit. so my best guess is if we stimulated consumer demand some of those other concerns would fade into the woodwork and we would see a more even acceleration in the economy. and we would see companies hire permanent as opposed to temporary workers. now, the stock market may be telling us that that is in our future. i refer to this as the toyota market. we have problems with unexpected breaking and then sudden acceleration. and we're in the sudden acceleration phase right now. >> okay. with regard to the big ticket items, you mentioned housing, you addressed that. but the auto sales numbers are supposed to be a little bit better. >> a little better. >> what's behind that? because cars are not cheap. >> they're not cheap but they're
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not out of the realm of affordability. there are a lot of incentive programs that are on. interest rates are still low if you're financing a car. and domestic automakers have come out with product lines harkening back to the 1970s, whether it's the camaro, the mustang, or the charger, that people like. there's this renewed appetite for the old muscle cars that were so popular then. now they have all the new features, all the new materials, and they're actually, as far as the domestic automakers are concerned, gaining some market share back. so that's been helping. and u.s. automakers are actually adding jobs in places where we thought they wouldn't do that, places like detroit, other parts of michigan. and that's been a pretty good news story. if you get past a sales rate of 13 million autos this year, there will be a shortage of parts. the automakers are going to be raising prices. they're going to be immensely profitable. they too will be able to add workers somewhere down the road. >> you go get a red charger and i'm going to cruise down the road with you. >> we're on national tv right now? y given what's happening with pastors and other people, i'm not going to make a promise on
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that front. >> that's okay. all the -- >> i don't think my wife's watching right now. so sure. >> it's okay. we love her and you as well. thanks so much, ron insana. it is the city with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and has long been associated with high crime and urban decay, but now detroit is attracting the glitz and glamour of tinseltown. tv and filmmakers are flocking to the motor city, boosting its image and bringing in jobs. nbc's peter alexander has this story. >> okay, guys, quiet for a minute. >> reporter: think of it as hollywood on lake huron. on the set of the horror film "hostel 3," this scene takes place in las vegas. but it's being shot in a remarkably less glitzy location that could use the dollars, detroit. >> if we can't bring hope to a community, because we're storytellers, we are dream weavers. that's what we do. and is it f. storytellers can't bring hope, i'm not sure who can. >> reporter: the motor city itself is now cast in its first primetime network drama. "detroit 187." and it's rolled out the red carpet for many other productions, including "up in
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the air." >> to know me is to fly with me. this is where i live. >> and the hbo series "hung." >> let's pretend we're on the winning streak we're going to start tonight. >> reporter: why michigan? film and tv makers have been attracted by the nation's most generous financial incentives. for every dollar studios spend they get up to 42 cents back from the state's government. critics argue it's a losing proposition for michigan taxpayers. but supporters say it's already helping improve the state's image. >> our young people are staying, and people are coming back from l.a., new york, moving to michigan, calling it home again. so i mean, it's just been incredible all the way around. >> reporter: downtown detroit has doubled as manhattan, paris, even prague in recent pictures. "transformers 3" is shooting here this month. the state of michigan has become a film factory. in 2007, before its aggressive tax incentives, just three productions were filmed here. this year they're expecting more than 50, and they'll bring in more than $300 million.
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the state's entertainment industry has created 7,000 new jobs. chris doherty, a laid-off electrician, is now a lighting technician. >> without this here, without this opportunity, we definitely would be out of a job. >> reporter: producers say despite a bad rap detroit hasn't seen its final act. >> detroit is really in a resurgent period. it's not down and dead. it's coming back. and we're happy to be here and be part of it. >> reporter: detroit has gone hollywood to give its residents new optimism and hope. peter alexander, nbc news, detroit. well, check out this startling prediction. 75% of americans will be obese by 2020. we're going to ask dr. ian smith what can be done to stop it. ed s what they love about their allergy relief, and what it lets them do. the thing i love most about zyrtec® is that it allows me to be outside. [ male announcer ] we bet you'll love zyrtec®, too -- or it's free. [ vonetta ] it is countdown to marshmallow time. [ woman laughs ]
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by the time the storm passes, some areas could see up to ten inches of rain. the first of three rescue capsules built to rescue the trapped miners has arrived at the mine in chile. two more capsules are to be delivered next week. the man-size capsule will pull miners out through rescue holes. but that's not expected to happen until november now. the 33 miners have been trapped since august. in china spectators came out to watch an unusual annual phenomenon, a tidal bore. it occurs every fall, when ocean waves are funneled into the mouth of a river, and that creates waves that reach 11 feet. chinese media broadcast three-hour live coverage of these tremendous waves. and now to the worldwide fight against obesity. in the country with the biggest obesity problem is, that's right, us. americans lead the way in obesity among the 33 richest countries in the world according to a new report. and in fact the world obesity forecast says 3 out of 4 americans will be overweight or obese by 2020, which amounts to
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75% of the u.s. population. dr. ian smith is the medical expert on vh1's "celebrity fit club," and dr. smith is also the author of "happy: simple steps to get the most out of life." another good morning to you. >> good morning, alex. good to see you again. >> i'm glad to have you here because dr. smith as we look at all this things are bad enough right now. you've got a third of the people out there who are overweight, another third of americans -- and that's 72 million people are obese. what is it about our culture that allows us to be this way and lead the way in this terrible trend? >> well, one of the side effects, unfortunately, of our great wealth is that we have an abundance of everything. and so we tend to overindulge, particularly when it comes to food and beverages. what i like to tell people all the time is there is some personal responsibility. you don't -- people know if they're overweight. well, beyond the point where people don't know if they're overweight or obese, everyone gets it. the question is are people willing or wanting to do something about it? alex, let me give you what i call my five-step plan. okay? the rule of five. one, how to reduce this.
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eliminate all whites. white things like white sugar, white pasta, white breads that have high glycemic index. number two, eat five serving of fruits and vegetables a day. that is critical. more fiber and the right kind of carbs. number three, try to have at least four days of 35 minutes of moderate physical activity. it doesn't mean you have to go to the gym. but walking, fast walking, something that is moderate physical activity. number four, make sure you're eating about four small meals a day. too many people eat big, big meals. spread it out over four meals. and the last is spend an hour every day of relaxing and reducing your stress. stress also can cause weight gain. >> how many minutes a day do you think people need to exercise? number three point there. >> about 35 to -- 35 to 40 minutes. for someone just beginning. ultimately you want to try to get to an hour four to five days a week. but start off slow, don't overdo it. >> now, someone like you knows the life of a busy person. i mean, you're out there, so
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many of us out there are trying to juggle work, family, any number of things, trying to find some personal time is next to impossible. so is it that you have to cut back on your sleep to sometimes exercise? and is that beneficial or not? >> no way. studies have shown that people who are not getting enough sleep are also at risk for weight gain. here's the issue, alex. it's about priorities and setting balance. you have to figure out what is most important for you from a physical and health standpoint, and just like you do a hair appointment or car appointment you have to schedule with yourself time for you. and this is why i preach all the time to people make yourself a priority and don't always think that you can come last. >> what about the kids out there? that is what is so alarming, is the rate at which they are getting overweight and obese at such young ages. what can be done there? >> you know, it's an embarrassment. the united states should be embarrassed our children are as heavy as they are, especially with all the technology and all the knowledge that we have about how to make it right. the first thing we can do, alex, is to put physical education
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back in classrooms. you know, because of local budgetary cuts they've taken out gym. we used to call it gym or p.e. this is what children need. we've got to get that back in there. and secondly, we have to revitalize these cafeterias. the food that our children are eating in these cafeterias is just ridiculous. high calorie, high sweetened, no nutritional value. those are the two places we can start to make a difference. >> okay. well, dr. ian smith, making a difference with us here. your books as well. i understand you have a new one which is called "the four-day diet." can i tell you, there's about a million girls i know that are going to buy that book. that's exactly what we need. get it done in four days. awesome. okay, dr. smith, thanks so much. >> thanks for having me. take care. "education nation." we have some brand new numbers this hour on the state of education in this country, including what americans think about the job public schools are doing, and they're all coming up next on msnbc sunday. ♪ [ male announcer ] ever have morning pain slow you down?
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nbc is kicking off a nationally broadcast in-depth conversation about improving education in america today, and it's called "education nation." during an interactive summit out there on rockefeller plaza parents, teachers, and students will come together with leaders in politics and business to discuss the challenges and opportunities in education today. and on this morning's "meet the press" moderator david gregory asked the secretary of education, arne duncan, about the status of the public school system and where we are in terms of reform. >> we've made tremendous progress, but let me be clear, david, as a country we have a long, long way to go. we have to educate our way to a better economy. education is an economic strategy. when you see us being 20th in, you know, math and science, we've fallen in one generation from first to ninth in college graduates. that's unacceptable. and we're paying a terrible price today. >> joining me live now, msnbc political analyst and "newsweek" national affairs columnist jonathan alter. jonathan, good morning to you. >> hi, alex.
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>> when you hear the secretary of education, arne duncan, describing the state of our system like that, what comes to mind? >> well, this is dead serious business. you know, traditionally education has been something people cared about when their kids were in school maybe. then they'd get a little older, they wouldn't care so much. it seemed a little bit peripheral from the national debate. it is central now. the whole future of our country economically, our ability to compete globally is at issue. and not to mention the lives of these kids. i mean, one thing you that really notice when you see "waiting for superman" -- and full disclosure, i'm in it. >> davis guggenheim. >> i have to disclose that, i guess, nowadays. >> all right. >> but one of the things that you really take away from this movie is these kids, if they can just get a break and get into a school with an effective teacher they can make it in american life, they can be productive taxpayers and help all of us instead of going to jail, which
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costs a lot more. a lot of times for kids in the inner city those are the career paths. you either get a decent education and go to college and make it or you end up in jail or dead. >> there's a mom in that film who says the choice of getting my child into an excellent school meant the difference between a future and going to jail. that clear. >> right. but it's not just a future for them. this is the point that arne duncan was making. it's a future for all of us. you know, it's the nation's future. we have to train the workforce of the future. there's a mismatch. there are going to be many more jobs than there are today, but if people don't have the skills to fill those jobs nobody's going to be better off. >> now, i want you to take a look at some of the stats that we have from this new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. and here's how americans generally view things at this point. a poll today says that 58% of americans think the public schools need major changes. 36% think they need minor changes. 5% think they're working pretty
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well. so what do you make of that? do you think this is a conversation that people have been having within themselves and now we've taken this to a national conversation? >> most education is local. and there are thousands of terrific public schools. they shouldn't be seen as let's dump on public schools, let's dump on teachers. that's not what this is about. this is about raising standards. and there's been tremendous progress on raising standards in just the last 12 months. you've got 37 states which have now signed on after three decades of debate very quietly this year, alex, 37 states have signed on to what are essentially national standards. so we're raising the bar. we are recognizing what works. we now know that after 20 years of experimenting. and we also know -- and this is the really good news, the really hopeful news. that with the right teachers, and there are many great ones in this country, every kid can learn. >> so give me the one thing that you think we need focus on first to raise our level of education
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in this country. just one. >> i think it's making sure that we really have those standards in place so that there is what they call a common core standard because if you you don't have high expectations for kids they're not going to -- they're not going to get over the bar. and that's something we've been struggling with for a long time in this country, and the good news is that we're on the way, we've got people working in tandem. we've got an administration in washington which has greatly exceeded my expectations on this and is really focused on job one. tremendous progress in just the last 12 months. >> okay. well, hopefully that will orient the conversation. thanks, jonathan. >> thanks, alex. >> we invite you all to stick around. i'm going to bring you a preview on "education nation." that will be live from the plaza coming up at 11:30 eastern time. it will be followed by teacher town hall host the by brian williams from noon to 2:00 p.m. eastern. watch both right here on msnbc sunday. new aveeno nourish plus shine with active naturals wheat
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